Rotary engine.



No. 743,010. PATENTED NOV. s, 1903. D. MORELL.

ROTARY ENGINE. APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 31. 1903.

no MODEL.

"Zdiine ssesg G.W.W

UNITED, STATES Patented November3, 1903.

DAVID MORELL, KASSEL, GERMANY.

ROTARY ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 743,010, dated November3, 1903.

Application filed March 31, 1903- serial No. 150,431. (No model.) i

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, DAVID MORELL, a subject of the Emperor of Germany,residing at Kassel, Germany, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Rotary Engines, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to improvements in rotary engines described in myUnited States Patents Nos. 673,648 and 675,899. In the drawings attachedto the present application I have shown an engine with a singlepistonshaft, while in the patents referred to engines with two shaftsare illustrated. All the inventions, however, are equally applicable toboth classes of engines.

Figure 1 is a vertical section, on the line A B C of Fig. 2, ofa pistonmounted on its shaft. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of one of the two disksforming the piston, the shaft being in section. Fig. 3 shows a sectionon the line D E of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 shows diagrammatically the arrangementof the three casings and their pistons mounted on a common shaft. Fig. 5is a View representing the pistons placed one beside the other andconnected by steam-pipes for the sake of more clearly illustrating thearrangement of the parts.

The joint between casing and rotary piston shown in Patent No. 673,648only proves effectual in practice when the piston in rotating can adaptitself to the form of the casing. This is particularly desirable withthe arrangement shown in Fig. 4 in order to prevent the piston-jointbeing damaged by faulty working or wear and tear of the bearings.

' a is the engine-shaft, to which the spherically-shaped member 0 issecured in any suitable manner, such as by a key I). The member 0 isprovided with projecting pins (1, carrying rollers e. The pins 01instead of being located in the member 0 may be secured direct in thepiston, or instead of such pins (1 and rollers 6 any other suitableequivalent means may be employed. The piston consists of two recessedseparate disks f g,which when set together present chambers into whichthe parts d 6 project and which serve to guide the piston on the membera. The piston is capable of self-adjustment relatively to the shaftthrough a greater or smaller angle, depending upon the form of themember 0 and the size of the spaces h.

To still further prevent jamming in the bearings and at the same time torelieve the latter from the weight of the rotating bodies, and so insuresilent running,various arrangements are adopted when at least threeengines are worked side by side. In this manher the pressure of thehigh-tension motive agent entering the central engine, so far as itloads the rotating bodies on one side, is overcome by the pressures ofthe expanding motive agent in the two outer engines. Furthermore, thepressure due to the Weight of the rotating bodies is greatly diminishedthrough a surplus pressure of the expanding motive agent.

As Fig. 4 shows, the three casings 1, 2, and 3 are in practice arrangedside by side, the pistons 4, 5, and 6being mounted on a common shaft a.

Each of the pistons 4 5 6 is provided with three slides working inradial or approximately radial slots. The slides themselves arenotshown, as their construction for this class of piston is alreadysufficiently well known. They might, for example, be of the kind shownin Fig. 2. The three slides of each piston are distributed around itscircumference at uniform distances apart and in protruding from theslots in the piston form chambers for the motive agent, which rotatesthe piston and its shaft by its pressure upon the surfaces of theslides.

The three casings are all of the same diameter, and likewise the threepistons. In

breadths, however, the three combined casings are different. 1 is of thesmallest breadth and, as Fig. 4 shows, is located between the medium andthe low pressure casings, which are broader for the purpose of securinga-greater surface of pressure in proportion to the decrease in tensionof the motive agent. In addition to this arrangement of the casingstheir eccentric position and the disposal of the induction and eductionports are-of importance. As Fig.

5 shows, the eccentric position of the middle casing 2 corresponds withthat of the lowpressure cylinder 3, while the position of thehigh-pressure casing 1 is of opposite eccen- The high-pressure casingtricity. The induction-port 7 of the highpressure casing 1 liesdiametrically opposite to the induction-port i of the medium-pressurecasing 5 and of the induction-port It of the low-pressure casing 3. Eachof the easings 1 and 2 possesses two eduction-ports Zm and n 0,suitablylocated relatively to the induction-ports. The casing 3 has onlya single eduction-port 10. The eduction-port Z, which in the directionof rotation first follows the induction-port 7 of the high-pressurecylinder, is connected by a passage q with the induction-port 'i of themedium-pressure casing 2. The eduction-port n first following theinduction-port '6 in the direction of rotation is connected by a passage1" and a branch passage 8 both with the second eduction-port m of thehigh-pressure casing and the induction-port 7c of the low-pressurecasing. The eduction-port 0 of the medium-pressu re casing and theeduction-portp of the low-pressurecasing communicate with the atmosphereby means of a passage 25. The passages referred to are in realityprovided in the walls of the casings and are therefore very short. InFig. 5 the passages are shown as pipes of considerable length merely forthe sake of clearness in the drawings. The spaces therefore which areseen in the drawings in reality do not exist at all-a point which it isof great importance to bear in mind in following the description of theoperation of the engine.

The motive agentfor instance, steainenters the port 7 under highpressure just in front of the point of contact of the piston 4 andeasing 1, and by reason of its pressure on the nearest slide rotates thepiston 4 in the direction of the arrow '11,. When the slide passes theport Z, a part of the high-pressure steam, as yet confined between twoslides, escapes through the port Z, passage q, and port 2 into themedium pressure casing, where it expands, new high-pressure steam at thesame time entering the high-pressure casing behind the next followingslide. When the slide of the casing 5 which is first exposed to thepressure of the expanding steam passes the port 01, the expanding steampartly escapes through this port into the passage 0, unites with theremainder of the expanding steam escaping through port m and passage 8from the high-pressure casing, and passes through the port into thelowpressure casing, where it further expands. The expanded steam thenpasses through the port p and passages i into the atmosphere, togetherwith the steam remaining in the easing 2, which escapes through port 0.In addition to the pressure exerted on the slides the steam also actsupon the pistons themselves. By reason of the eccentric disposal of thepistons adopted and the peculiar arrangement of the induction-ports thesteampressure in casing 1 will be exerted downward on the piston in thedirection approximately of the arrow 1;, while the pressure of theexpanding steam in casings 2 and 3 will be exerted upward somewhat inthe direction shown by arrows w and 0c, and therefore opposing thepressure due to the weight of the rotating bodies. At the same time thepressure of the steam inclosed between the ports land m of casing 1 willlikewise act in upward direction. There are thus three difierentpressures acting in upward direction which, if the expansion-spaces andpressuresurfaces are suitably selected, will (depending upon the degreeof expansion) be more or less in excess of the downward pressure of thefresh steam entering the high-pressure casing and supplementing thepressure due to the weight of the piston. By means of the excess ofupward pressure the weight of the pistons can be approximately balanced,so that the shaft-bearings are relieved. Owing to this and the fact thatthe steam acts in rotary manner at diametrically opposite places on thepistons keyed to a common shaft, extremely noiseless working is attainedand the engine may be run at a very high speed.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Let-' ters Patent, is-

l. In a rotary engine, the combination of a spherically-shaped member 0secured to the shaft, a piston containing the said member, and means forconnecting the piston so that it shares the rotations of the shaft,substantially as described.

2. In a compound rotaryengine, a common shaft, a plurality ofspherically-shaped members secured to the shaft, pistons mounted on thespherical members, ported casings for respectively low, medium and highpressure fluid located eccentrically to their respective pistons, thehigh-pressure casing lying centrally of the other casings and havingopposite eccentricity" to the same, the inductionports in the casingsbeing so disposed as to correspond with the opposite eccentricities ofthe casings, substantially as described.

3. Ina rotary engine, a casing, a shaft eccentrically mounted therein, aspherical member secured to the shaft, pins projecting from the shaft,rollers mounted on the pins, and a piston encircling the sphericalmember and having pockets to receive the rollers, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed myname in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

DAVID MORELL.

Witnesses:

CARL HoHMANN, N. R. Y. ScHoMT.

